On Saturday 29th June a small group of long-time supporters of 40tude cycled the breadth of England in just one day, between the hours of sunrise and sunset.

They set out set out at sunrise (04:43am!) from the Isle of Sheppey.  After 16 hours and 49 minutes in the saddle, 340 kilometres, thankfully no blood but certainly a lot of sweat and tears, a number of unwelcome hills and a final exciting charge down Cheddar Gorge, the whole team crossed the finish line onto Weston-super-Mare Beach at 21:32, with just one minute to spare before their target of sunset; exhausted but triumphant!

They set themselves this challenge in memory of their friend and fellow 40tude cyclist Lee Clements who died earlier this year.  Lee was only 49 years old, a super fit man and an amazing person and his death from an undetected heart condition was a total shock to everyone.  
 
In September 2023 Lee took part in 40tude’s Colmar cycle challenge, helping to raise awareness and funds to cure colon cancer. 

The team have now raised more than £7,000 for 40tude and Lee's family’s chosen heart charity, Cardiac Risk in the Young (C-R-Y). Both charities advocate early screening as the best way to keep yourself safe and healthy.

Thank you to everyone who has made a donation.  If you'd like to congratulate the team on their achievement, it's not too late - you can do so easily here:  

Make a donation

Well done to all our Sun Chasers:  Paul "Cheery" Kelly, Sally "Sick Note" Besley, John "Meldrew" Kinsella, Jonny "Duracell" Aucamp, Adam "You'll never catch me" Smith, Simon "Engine" Lowe, Sam "Cadel" Bevans, Kieth "Typo" Duffy-Penny, Kevin "Thorpedo" Reynard and Karen "Mountain Goat" Middlemass, and their able support crew: JP Miller, Lucy Ede and Xena. 

Thank you also to Chris Combe who joined the team on his bike for part of the way!  

You can find out more about how to get screened for colon cancer here

Getting screened for colon cancer

To learn more about the work of CRY please visit their website at c-r-y.org.uk 

Map image credit: GoogleMaps